Natick bears brunt of wind/rainstorm

Monday

Jul 30, 2007 at 12:01 AMJul 30, 2007 at 12:48 PM

Natick's missing many trees, and a roof or two, after being pounded by Saturday's whipping wind and rainstorm that knocked out power to 2,000 residents and hit the Walnut Hill and West Natick areas harder than most of MetroWest.

Danielle Ameden/Daily News Staff

Natick's missing many trees, and a roof or two, after being pounded by Saturday's whipping wind and rainstorm that knocked out power to 2,000 residents and hit the Walnut Hill and West Natick areas harder than most of MetroWest.

By the time the late-afternoon storm blew over, Framingham also had casualties on its Southside. Among them: some cars and homes damaged by fallen trees and a blown transformer at the corner of Beaver Park Road and Taralli Terrace that caught a nearby tree ablaze.

"It's almost like a tropical storm," said Natick Deputy Fire Chief Rick White, whose department fielded 48 calls in less than two hours for weather-related mishaps.

"Four engines, ladder, the deputy, the ambulances, everybody was helping out ... working into the wee hours of the morning," he said. "There were wires, dances in the street, live wires ... A few lightning strikes, a couple of houses and apartment buildings."

The storm ripped the roof right off Natick's 60 North Main St., the old Natick Mills that were converted into apartments. The building lost power and an elevator with people aboard got stuck, but stopped right at a floor, White said.

"The guys coached them through the doors, told them what to do," the deputy chief said of his firefighters, who helped the trapped passengers escape.

An NStar crew quickly got to work on electricity restoration in Natick after 2,000 people lost power there while 350 were lights-out in Sherborn and less than 300 in Framingham, spokesman Margaret Coughlan said.

"Most of those were only out for 10 minutes or so. It wasn't too bad really," Coughlan said at 6 p.m. yesterday. "I think in the whole Natick-Framingham area, there are only two customers out."

Across the street from Natick's 60 North Main St., a tree and telephone pole both came crashing down and blocked the road at Charles and North Main streets.

Trees were down on roadways and wires all over his town, including on Tamarack and Bellevue roads, Florence, Highland, Marion, Morency and Sawin streets, Boden Lane and School Street Extension.

One went through the roof of a Shattuck Street family's home, he said.

"It was pretty bad," Sgt. Paul Thompson said of the storm. "It was very strong, very damaging in what did get knocked over."

One came down on Second Street by Beaver Terrace Circle, bringing down power, phone and cable lines and jeopardizing the health of one resident on an electronic oxygen machine, Pereira said.

"We sent the Fire Department to check on her to make sure she was all set," he said.

The transformer blew out around 4:20 p.m. Saturday, catching the nearby tree ablaze and knocking out power to 45 customers until 1:39 a.m. yesterday, Coughlan said. Meanwhile, 146 people in the Wilson Drive and Pumpkin Pine Road area lost power until 11:30 a.m. yesterday, she said.

A Dennison Crossing railroad gate at the intersection of Beaver and Waverley streets was damaged by the storm, which was described as touching down in isolated pockets and being wild.

"One minute it was sunny, the next minute it's raining with thunderstorms, heavy rain," Pereira said. "The next minute it's like a real heavy wind came by. It was almost raining sideways, it was unbelievable."

Many MetroWest towns fared much better than Framingham and Natick, including Hudson where the storm described by officials as "pretty quiet."

Marlborough had only one problem - a tree on Diana Drive that fell down and took the power with it, Police Sgt. Richard McDevitt said. "It was just, I think, less than an hour they were out."

Hopkinton was hit only by 10 minutes of hail with one downed tree on Kerry Lane, which knocked out power for 21 customers from 4:22 p.m. Saturday to 6:56 a.m. yesterday, Coughlan said.

"That's it," said Sgt. Charles Wallace. "A lot of East Hopkinton, which includes Kerry Lane was out, but nothing major."

Fallen trees got tangled in the wires they brought down with them in Sherborn, where the storm was wreaked a little havoc for detoured drivers and people without power, Fire Chief Neil McPherson said.

"Everyone now has power back and most of the trees have been removed from the streets," he said last night. "We're all cleaned up and just hoping things stay quiet."

(Danielle Ameden can be reached at 508-634-7521 or dameden@cnc.com.)

Never miss a story

Choose the plan that's right for you.
Digital access or digital and print delivery.